Massage Chairs for Preventative Self-Care
When it comes to preventative self-care, massage chairs can be a valuable health and wellness tool. Massage has proven benefits for overall health and well-being, from better sleep to improved immune function, reduced stress and pain relief.
With a massage chair in your own home, you can enjoy all of the following benefits from the comfort of your own living room:
Improved Immunity
Regular massages may help boost your immune system. Research from Cedars-Sinai Medical Center found that people who received a 45-minute massage had increased levels of lymphocytes, which are the white blood cells that defend the body against disease.
According to the American Massage Therapy Association, massage may help fight seasonal colds and the flu. When the body is in a deep state of relaxation, the number of natural killer (NK) cells increases. NK cells are white blood cells that rapidly respond to viral-infected cells.
Massage can also help the body get over a cold in other ways. The increased blood flow and fluid movement nourish the body while helping remove waste or germs.
Adding massage therapy to your preventative care routine can help strengthen your immune system, reducing the risk of illness. Having a massage chair in your home makes it easy and convenient to enjoy the benefits of massage, regularly.
Reduced Stress
Massage is an effective tool for alleviating stress, a silent killer. Studies have shown that a 10-15-minute massage can lower blood pressure, oxygen consumption and salivary cortisol levels.
Stress affects all areas of the body:
Musculoskeletal: Chronic stress can leave the muscles in a constant state of tension, which can trigger tension headaches and even lower back pain.
Respiratory: Rapid, shallow breathing and shortness of breath are both common responses to stress. For people with respiratory disease, stress can make breathing problems even worse.
Cardiovascular: When we’re under stress, our hearts beat faster and stronger. The body also releases the stress hormones cortisol, adrenaline and noradrenaline. With chronic stress, these effects are ongoing and may increase the risk of heart attack, hypertension or stroke.
Gastrointestinal: Stress can affect the entire digestive system, causing acid reflux, heartburn, nausea, bloating and even decreased nutrient absorption.
Endocrine: Chronic, high levels of cortisol can impair communication with the immune system, which can lead to the development of metabolic disorders, chronic fatigue, depression and other mental health conditions.
Studies have found that stress-relieving therapies, like massage, can improve or prevent these effects.
With a massage chair, you can enjoy daily stress-relieving massages right from the comfort of your home.
Neck and Back Pain Relief
Back pain is the leading cause of missed workdays and work limitations, and neck pain isn’t too far behind. Back and neck pain can cause a host of problems, even on a fundamental level, as it can cause difficulty bending over, lifting objects, and even just sitting in an upright position at a desk where compression on the spine can make normal seating unbearable.
Massage has been shown to be an effective pain reliever, and massage chairs are especially effective for alleviating neck and back pain, because the massager rollers are strategically placed to target these areas.
The Human Touch® Super Novo massage chair offers unique L-track and S-track massage systems that cover 60% more of the back than competing massage chairs. This unibody track delivers a soothing massage that extends from your neck and shoulders down to your thighs, while the dual-lumbar heat feature helps to loosen tight back muscles and further alleviate pain.
Better Sleep
Sleep is crucial to your overall health and well-being, but an estimated 50-70 million Americans suffer from sleep disorders that affect their health.
Poor sleep can affect:
Brain function, including your ability to make decisions, solve problems, cope with change, and control your emotions.
Physical health. Sleep deficiency can increase the risk of obesity, heart disease, stroke, high blood pressure, diabetes, and other health conditions.
Productivity. Lack of sleep makes it difficult to stay focused and productive at work.
We know that massage helps alleviate stress, and that alone can help you enjoy a better night of sleep. However, a study on back pain found that in addition to pain relief, regular massages can increase serotonin levels.
Serotonin is a precursor to melatonin, the hormone that prepares your body for sleep and regulates your sleep cycle. At night, the body produces more melatonin, alerting the body that it’s time to go to bed. During the day, melatonin production decreases to let the body know it’s time to wake up.
Many people who suffer from sleep disorders have low melatonin levels. Massage may help increase serotonin levels, which ultimately increases melatonin levels. With a massage chair in your home, you can relax your way to a good night’s sleep.
Having a massage chair at home can be an excellent preventative self-care tool. With the touch of a button, you can melt away stress, alleviate pain and enjoy a better night of sleep.